What Matthews Must Do To Beat Specter

Five Thirty Eight is reporting that Chris Matthews is hiring staff for a Senate run against Republican Arlen Specter in 2010.

Polling puts Specter ahead by quite a bit in the polls, but that's probably not going to be Matthews' biggest problem.

With the Democrats just shy of 60 votes in the Senate needed to prevent a filibuster, Specter is in position to be a key vote in the passage of critical legislation.  He'll be able to barter his cloture vote for, say, Employee Free Choice or Healthcare in exchange for the the support of key Democratic constituencies that Matthews would need to win in that state.

There were 830,000 union member in Pennsylvania in 2007.  It would be easier to take the working over that the Chamber of Commerce is likely to give him than have close to a million people organizing against him, so my guess is Arlen Specter -- who is notorious for for being "only there when you don't need him" -- will suddenly discover some heretofore unknown steel in his spine and hold on that vote.

Matthews, on the other hand, doesn't seem to know what Employee Free Choice is -- beyond his ability to spread GOP propaganda (see his YouTube with Howard Dean, below). 

Employee Free Choice is becoming the new gay -- the issue that wingnuttia is whipping itself into a frenzy over.  If Matthews is indeed exploring a run, he needs to quickly bone up on this issue and figure out why the stakes are so high for millions of working people.

Matthews has an important forum, and Specter isn't the only one who can deal.

Jane Hamsher blogs at firedoglake.com

Comments

[steveAC10]

PA is also a state where crossing over is not an option in primaries. You have to register by party and stick to that party unless you change your registration. That effectively limits participation to the "base". Specter had a tougher time winning the primary than the general last time around - and this time it could get even tougher, because the Republican moderates in the eastern part of the state have largely defected to the Democrats. The 2010 Repub primary will be fought not in Philly, Pittsburgh, Scranton and Harrisburg. It will be fought in what we big city PA folks affectionately refer to as "Pennsyltucky". The part of the state where Palin was thought of as the second coming and some of her most repugnant rally crowds were found. If Specter makes it to the general, he's probably pretty safe - but i have severe doubts that he will.

[nypoet22]

I know an issue debate is not what was intended here, but the Employee Choice should really include the option of different unions, not just one. A gigantic problem that has been lost in the pro- or anti- movements where unions are concerned, is that unions are essentially a monopoly. I choose to be a union member in a right to fire state, which costs me a fair bit of money, and the union refuses to take any form of decisive action on behalf of its employees, allowing rank and file to be used and abused by management and not taking any substantive action. our only options are a crappy union or no union, and this is not acceptable!

[mrsbee]

I think Howard Dean should run for the Senate....

[NotAllHere]

Union card check is a dangerous idea, even George McGovern is against it. Why do the unions want this? Isn't having a secret ballot good enough? No because when they do that then people reject them and the unions don't like that most people vote against them. The unions demand too much and have contributed to the mess of our current economy (UAW). I hope Republicans filibuster this evil legislation.

[nypoet22]

the problem with unions is not that they exist, it is that they are monopolies. union members should have a choice about who represents them.

[Bitsko]

I'm sure Mr. Matthews, who thinks of himself as a working-class stiff while earning millions of dollars for years, doesn't even know what the Fair Wage Movement is.

[Ramirez]

Celebrity cand idates come with baggage and Matthews would be no exception. There are countless hours of tape available of Matthews saying ridiculous things. I just don't see it, but then again the Franken senate run made no sense to me either.

[HeevenSteven]

Unless he has an R after his name, like Reagan, Schwarzenegger, eh?

[Andante200]

Get a real Democrat to take on Specter. Although he's one of the few Republicans I consider reputable and relatively honest, I don't think a noise machine like Matthews has a remote chance to unseat Specter.

[robbie44]

Some fools talk a lot a smack about my man I still call Chris. But I hope he upgrades his title soon, cuz I need someone new to revere¦¦¦..and quickly.

[Clavis]

We've got to start fighting fire with fire. When Republicans use their constant tactics of obliquely labeling liberals as hating America, or being weak on national security, or being addled, or anything else that Republicans regularly use as implicit aspects of their sneaky rhetorical tricks, WE MUST CALL THEM ON IT!

"Are you saying I don't love my country? ARE YOU SAYING I DON'T LOVE MY COUNTRY?!? You don't have the right to accuse me of such things. Who the hell do you think you are? I demand an apology, right now! Or else I'm dragging you outside and we're having it out, right now..."

When right-wingers stop thinking they can get away with labeling half the country as anti-American, maybe they'll stop using it as a tactic. We know that they're all cowards, anyway, so it shouldn't be too hard to show these bullies for what they truly are...

[Ciganka]

Absolutely. Calling them out is very important. The other side has been allowed to babble this garbage unchecked. We made the difference this year because we did not let them off the hook on this, but we cannot quit now. CALL THEM ON IT EVERY TIME.

[SteveMDFP]

Stephen Colbert nailed this one. Something like "Republicans don't have to defend their love of country, everybody knows they love America. They just hate half the people in it."

[MDO]

Chris Matthews has a terrific shot at winning the Pennsylvania Senate seat. As a pastor in the capital city of Harrisburg, I am well aware of Pennsylvania politics and Senator Specter although well respected is a mystery man among real people in Pennsylvania. If Specter seeks re election he will be formidable but not unbeatable. Matthews has to bring his case to the people. He has to come early and often to the keystone state and he has to seriously engage with a broad and diverse array of constiuencies. if he plans to rely solely on the Scranton vote he won't make it, biut if he can merge Scranton with some other areas then he can build a winning coalition that could deliver him a slim victory over a popular incumbnet. hey -- a win is a win.

[robbie44]

I think we should all pray to our higher power for Chris.

[larry278]

How about not preying on the uninformed who idolize mediocre,TV, talking heads. Chris has supported interesting people & very interesting causes. Regardless of who the GOP nominates in '10, Mr Matthew's record will be discussed. That could cost Chris the nomination.

[navalvet]

Around eighteen years, ago, I was a delegate at my union's national convention. Some local from PA, but not the state organization, wanted to condemn Sen. Specter over his handling of Anita Hill and his vote for Borkf or the Supreme Court, and to remove his union endorsement. Sen. Specter had been a good friend to labor and to our union over the years and the motion was defeated.

I suspect that Jane Hamsher is correct and that Sen. Specter will buck the right wingers in his state to support Employee Free Choice. Sen. Specter understands that the first imperative in politics is winning, so he will work to get the support of labor unions. However, even labor unions cannot control its members votes, so a challenger might still have a chance on other issues.

[TheIndependenceParty]

Matthews is a joke candidate. As a Pennsylvania I searched the article to try and assure myself it would not be here that Matthews threatened to run. Sadly, it is.

Allyson Schwartz should run and displace Arlen Specter. Specter has pretended to be moderate while voting almost lock step with Bush and his ilk in Congress. Claiming to be a Constitutionalist, he has done nothing to correct Bush's Warrantless Wiretapping, and voted for the MCA that obliterated Habeas Corpus. Long past time for him to go.

[nexus1961]

"Matthews is a joke candidate"....
Arnold Schwartzenegger is the GOVERNOR of California....
Exactly WHOSE joke, jerk?

[UltraClassic]

Do we need a senator who's leg tingles when he listens to Obama speak?

[SeanGardner]

If it will give Obama another ally in his push for GREEN and infrustructure job creation, substantive health care, energy independence, and meaningful education funding, when what could be wrong with that?

If the "leg tingle" produces real change, then I say KEEP TINGLING!!!! :)

[cowsandsheep]

The GOP will truly be dead if Arlen is ousted. I hope they can learn from this I really like the notion of at least a 2 party system.

Read the Name Damm It.
Baaaa

[Joyful]

Keep in mind that Specter had overwhelming union backing last time around. I remember the union households with standard Democratic Kerry signs in the yard but with "Joe Hoeffel for Senate" taped over.

Of course, Specter could lose the Republican primary from the right; he almost did last time, even with Bush et al. campaigning for him. Republicans of Specter's ilk have been converting to Democrats by the hundreds of thousands, and there aren't a lot of sane/sensible ones left.

I am hoping that we Dems have better candidates than Matthews and that Chuck Schumer keeps his big fat nose out of our primary, unlike last time.

[Querent]

Schumer's no longer chair of the DSCC, so I think you are likely to get your wish.